Episode 1: Sense of doubt
by AmandaGrey
Summary: My first fanfic set in the aftermath of series 2 episode 8. Alex wakes up from her coma, unsure of where she is or what she's doing. Meanwhile, the rest of the team battle to save Gene's job and a solve rather intriguing murder case.
1. Chapter 1

A bright light flickered, on-off, on-off; she opened her eyes slowly not knowing whether she was awake or dreaming.

"Mum?" She turned her head slowly, a sharp pain searing through her head as she did so.

"Molls?" she whispered softly.

"Mum, it's me. Don't try to talk, the doctors found you on the ward, collapsed. They said you need to rest, I'll go and get someone."

_God, Alex thought. Her daughter was only 12 years old but she was so sensible, so caring._

She had made her way back home to Molly and once she was better she'd show her just how much she loved her. She wasn't going anywhere. But for now she needed rest, Molly was right, her head pounded and she could feel herself slowly drifting off.

"Listen, I dunno if you can hear me, Bols. The nurses are gonna be back in a minute, I need you to wake up. If I gave you a slap, would that help? They think that I shot you. I mean I _did_ shoot you, but they think that I _shot_ you…They're after me Bollykecks. Look, I am on the ruddy lam 'ere"

She woke with a start, _Gene Hunt_ she thought, _Why that man? Why does he infiltrate my dreams with such aggressiveness_? _I'm home now, and I know he's hurt and angry but it's not real, none of it is real. Sam Tyler believed in this world, this other world, but he was crazy, he must have been._

It had seemed real enough to Alex, those people, Chris, Ray, Shaz, all of them had seemed so lifelike. She had, in her comatose state, built them up in her head, sympathised with them, loved them even; but it was all just a dream, just Sam's dream really, that she had made her own. She was awake now, that world, as realistic and memorable as it was, was behind her now. She was alive, she was home, and she was back with her Molly.

She opened her eyes again, relieved to find that her head had stopped pounding, she could think more clearly now, concentrate on getting herself better.

"Ma'am? Are you awake Ma'am?" _Shaz? No it can't be._ "I don't know if you can hear me but you're in the hospital. You were shot but the doctor said you've been very lucky, the bullet missed your vital organs and you're going to be ok."

Alex starred at her, she did look a lot like Shaz, but it couldn't be her, she had made it back to Molly, she was back home in 2008.

"Nurse, is my daughter here?" she whispered. She felt silly for asking, she knew Molly would be here, she had been waiting to see her, the doctor had said so.

"Ma'am, it's me Shaz. Chris is here too, we're so glad you're awake. I'll go and get someone."

_Please, please_ thought Alex_ I can't be here, I don't belong here, I belong with Molly, I was back, with Molly. This isn't my reality; this is all a dream, a figment of my overactive imagination, of Sam's imagination._

_Right, Alex, it's ok, just shut your eyes, you must be dreaming, just go back to sleep and you'll wake up and everything will be normal again._


	2. Chapter 2

The light flickered again, on-off, on-off. God she wished somebody would change the bloody bulb. "Hello Alex, I'm doctor Michaels, you've been in an accident and you're at the hospital. You've been in a coma for a couple of days but you seem to be responding very well to the medication. I'll come back later when you're a bit more awake and we'll see where we are."

As he left, Alex looked around her. This was certainly different from before, they must have moved her to a different ward. This one wasn't as nice as the other one she decided, much smaller, fewer things in it, still, what did it really matter anyway, at least she was awake now, she would be out of here soon.

The knock on the door startled her, "Come in" she managed.

"Oh morning Ma'am, didn't know if you'd be awake yet. Got some good news though, doc says your wound's healing nice like and you'll be outta here pretty sharpish."

"Chris?" she asked. _It can't be him, must be a nurse or a porter, spitting image of Chris though_ she thought, maybe that was it, maybe that's why they were all so lifelike, they were real people in 2008 that she had seen everyday in her comatose state, she hadn't so much imagined themas created personalities for each of them.

"Yeah Ma'am, it's me. Shaz wanted to visit too but she has another dress fitting, wedding's drawing nearer y'know and she wants everything to be just right like. She'll be made up that you'll be better in time fo' it."

"Chris, what's going on?" she stammered, _surely she couldn't be back in 1982?_

"Well, Ma'am, doc said you might not remember anything. Look, this is gonna sound pretty mental but you've been shot...by DCI Hunt… I mean, I don't think he meant to shoot you…there was a confrontation, with that Jeanette bird, y'know, and the guv's gun went off and the bullet… got ya."

"Ok, Chris, this might seem like a rather odd question to be asking, but what year is this?" she could feel the shaking in her voice.

"It's 1982 Ma'am, December 1st 1982," he replied.

Then it dawned in her, she wasn't home, home had been a dream. Sure it was real, the 'real' reality but she hadn't gone back there, not really, only in her head. It was heart-wrenching; she hadn't seen her beautiful daughter again. A small tear trickled down her face, _Pull yourself together Alex, _she thought, _there must be a reason why I'm still here. Maybe, when I find out what it is, I can finally go home, maybe someone needs me, maybe Operation Rose isn't over. Whatever it is, I'm going to find out, I'm going to do whatever needs to be done and I'm going to come home to you Molly._

"So, Chris," she mustered a small smile, "any news to report? And Gene, I mean, DCI Hunt, is he…ok?"

She didn't know why she asked, why she needed to know, but she did. She had heard him in her dream, or in her reality, she wasn't sure. Something told her that something was wrong, something was not quite right.

"Well Ma'am, the guv is, well, I haven't seen the guv, not since, y'know, the day of the, er…accident. The Super and some of the others, well, they think he shot you, on purpose like; he's gone AWOL to tell ya the truth. No-one's seen 'im."

"Well Chris, I think it's important that we establish his whereabouts, don't you? My recollection of events is a little hazy but I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all this, I mean, DCI Hunt was angry, I know he was but he didn't mean to shoot me, we all know that." _He can't have meant it, this was Gene Hunt, he didn't believe her about the future, about Summers, but their connection can't have been lost, just like that. She was right, she told him about the diversion, about St Douglas Lane, he knew that she wasn't corrupt, surely he knew._

"Yeah, course Ma'am, me and Ray, and Shaz, we're all trying to find 'im, gonna try n' get 'im to come down the station, 'and 'imself in and tell the truth. Sure, it looks bad but you're ok now Ma'am, you can tell 'em all that it was just an accident, a misunderstandin'" he explained.

"Thanks Chris, listen, I better get some rest now. It was nice to see you, tell Shaz, I said hello."

"Right o Ma'am, I think she's comin' in tomorra so ya can tell 'er you'self. Get well soon Ma'am, I'll let ya know if anythin' 'appens, if we find the guv like."

"Thanks" she said quietly.

And with that Chris was gone. She was glad, she thought. Ok, she was stuck in this world but she had friends here, Chris, and particularly Shaz. Even Ray and Luigi, she could seek comfort that she was not alone in this world. _As for Gene_, she thought, _maybe that's it, maybe he's what's keeping me here. Maybe he needs my help, my help to clear his name. Maybe I can do that, and then maybe I can go home._


	3. Chapter 3

She slept, a restless sleep; her world, her two worlds, swirling round and round in her head. "Mum! Mum!" It was Molly's voice, then it was her own voice, calling out to her own mother, it was Shaz, "Ma'am. Ma'am".

She awoke with a start but no one was there, just her alone in the darkness of the hospital. She had to get out of there, out of there fast, she was going crazy, she was confused and alone, she needed someone, she needed Molly or perhaps Gene, she wasn't sure anymore. She needed some kind of comfort, some kind of reason to the madness.

Slowly she got up, she needed to walk, needed to get away from the room at least. Something stopped her in her tracks, among the cards and flowers she saw it, a small white envelope, it hadn't been there yesterday, she was sure of it, she'd spent the hours since Chris had left reading through the cards, each one making her smile, making her feel that there were people out there, there was life outside of the four, ever shrinking walls of her hospital room.

She picked up the letter, instantly recognising the scrawl of her DCI. Gene? Had he been here? _Only one way to find out, _she thought.

Ripping the letter open carefully, she sat back down on the bed. Nervously, she unfolded the pages, not sure whether or not she wanted to read the words, not sure whether she wanted to know what he had to say, if he was still angry or hurt or… she wasn't sure but something inside her couldn't stop it, she needed to know.

_Dear Alex,_

_I know if you're reading this you must be awake by now, or else some nosey twat has got hold of me letter. Anyway, hopefully it's you Bols, hopefully you've snapped out of it and are bossing them nurses around._

_Look, I wanted to stay and apologise for shooting you. You know I didn't mean to, I didn't mean any of the things I said, I was angry, angry cos I thought... well, I don't know what I thought. I still don't know. But I do know that you're on my side, on my team. All that stuff you said, about trust, I do trust you Bols, you just threw me with all that mumbo jumbo about the future and that._

_I dunno what's going on in that pretty little head of yours, Bolly, but whatever it is I know that you tried to tell me the truth, even though it might not be the truth, if you get what I mean? _

_Anyway, if you've seen Ray or Chris or anyone from the station, you'll probably know why I couldn't stay with you. Truth is, they think I did it on purpose on account of me yelling at you but I need you to know that I never meant to hurt you. _

_I need you to talk to them, Alex, tell them I didn't do it. You always were a mouthy tart and if that fails you could always try some of your psychiatry psychobabble on them._

_I'm not sure if I'll see you again but just in case I don't, I hope you found your way home, wherever the bloody hell that is._

_Gene_

She let a tear slowly fall from her eye, he'd come to find her, to make amends. Sure, he might not believe her about the future, he probably thinks she's crazy or something but at least he knows she hadn't followed the same path as Chris, as Mac, as any of the other bent coppers. She was still unsure about what had happened but his letter had convinced her that whatever _had_ happened, he hadn't meant it. She was going to clear his name, to make this world back to normal, and then she was going home.

---

"OK Alex", it was doctor Michaels, coming to assess whether or not she could go home she hoped. "Your wound is healing well, but you're on a strong course of painkillers and antibiotics. We would prefer to keep you in for a few more days just to be on the safe side."

Alex's heart sank, a few more days, what was that, 2, 3, 4? "Look, doctor Michaels" she started, not really knowing where she was going with her train of thought. "I feel so much better today, there's really no need for me to be here, if I go home I'll promise I'll rest, take it easy, just please, I have to get out of here, I have things to do, things to…clear up."

"Well Alex, like I said we would prefer for you to stay here but we can't hold you here against your will. Is there someone who could take you home, someone to keep an eye on you?" he replied.

_Not really_ she thought, _but I need to get out, to help Gene._ "Well yes, I suppose there is, there's my colleagues, Chris and Shaz, and my landlord, he always likes to check up on me, you know, he's Italian and he gets lonely, so erm yes."

"Very well Alex, I understand there's a young lady here to see you, I'll let you get dressed and you'll have to sign yourself out," he said reluctantly.

"Hi Ma'am!" came a cheery voice from the doorway. It was Shaz, and she surprised herself at how happy she was to see her familiar face. "The doc says you're plannin' on dischargin' yourself. Are you sure that's a good idea Ma'am, I mean, you've been through quite a lot and this is probably the best place for you."

Shaz's concern pleased Alex, she reminded her a little of herself if truth be told. A little naïve maybe, but her heart was in the right place and she had more intelligence than any of her male superior officers. "I'll be fine Shaz" Alex said softly, "I just need to get out of here and get home, I'll rest once I'm there, I promise."

Walking out of the hospital into the fresh air, Alex breathed a sign of relief. Her side still ached from the bullet but that was to be expected she supposed. She was lucky; she and everyone else knew it. She was lucky to be alive, if that's really what she was, and now she had work to do.


	4. Chapter 4

**(sorry about the varying length of chapters - it didn't make sense to chop this one up or to add others together)**

She walked into the office the following day just as Ray was mid conversation with Chris about his date the previous evening.

"you shudda seen the way she was lookin' at me. Eye's all wide, knew she was gaggin' for it. Not 'alf bad either she weren't. Nice big knockers, long legs…"

"Ma'am!" Shaz yelled, clearly happy to see her back at work.

"Morning Shaz, Chris, Ray" she responded quietly.

"Morning Ma'am," Chris said cheerily "Glad to 'ave ya back."

"Thanks Chris, Ok, what are we working on?" she said enthusiastically.

"Well Ma'am. Some blokes been done in down the docks, some plod found 'im last night whilst 'e was out joggin'. Been whacked over the 'ed wi' summin', baseball bat the coroners reckon'"

"Right, have we got any ID on the victim?"

"yeah Ma'am" replied Chris, "A Mr...Chester. Regular bloke by the looks of it, mechanic, worked for 'imself. Family business"

"Thanks Chris, what do we know about his last movements?" Alex said, trying to piece together the puzzle of events that lead up to his untimely death.

"Not much at the moment Ma'am, , Ray an' me were gonna start door to door, y'know to see if anyone knows anythin'" Chris replied.

"Good, well…I'll leave you to it then. Have the family been told?"

"Yeah Ma'am" said Ray "Oh and Ma'am, there's summin' else"

"What's that?" she responded inquisitively

"Coroner found some sorta poison in 'is blood. Summit don' add up, why would you poison a bloke if you were plannin' on knockin' 'im over the 'ead wi' a weapon an' all?"

"I don't know, Ray, it's our job to find out I guess." She replied, stating the obvious.

"DI Drake?" it was a gruff voice, from a man walking through the office as if he owned the place. "I'm DCI Spencer, taking over from DCI Hunt. We'll need to ask you a few questions about the circumstances leading to your injury."

_Injury? _She thought, _Who the hell did he think he was, she'd been shot for Christ sake. Not like she'd slipped over and grazed her knee! Still, the sooner she cleared things up the better, then maybe Gene would come back._

"Of course, sir." She replied, a little too eagerly, "I'm sure I can leave this in Ray's capable hands. I'm ready now if that's ok?"

"If you wish, Alex, follow me." He responded, a little taken aback by her willingness.

DCI Spencer led the way to the interview room, closely followed by Ray, who was intent in becoming involved in the investigation into her shooting and Gene's disappearance.

"Right Alex" DCI Spencer said calmly, "let's go through the events leading up to 20th November. Can you, in your own words, describe what happened on that day?"

Alex was a little taken aback, his words were calm enough but something didn't feel right, she felt like a suspect rather than a witness. _It's fine_ she thought to herself, _I'll just tell them the truth and then it'll all be over._

"Certainly, sir" _Now, where to start?_ "Erm, well, I.." Alex started nervously. " I was following a suspect, a bent copper, you see I, erm, I saw what happened with the gold bullion truck you see and I,er, he was running, no walking, er, very fast away from the scene, so I just..erm..followed."

"Go on" urged DCI Spencer.

"Well, this man, you see, I knew he was involved somehow so I went to talk to him, to arrest him, I followed him to this place, this garden. Suddenly, he pointed the gun at me. Then, I heard DCI Hunt, he shouted something like, "Drop the weapon or I mean it, I'll shoot." The man let the safety catch off his gun, bringing it closer to my head, Gene, I mean DCI Hunt fired first and shot him. He just lay there, motionless, the Guv he ran out, held him where he fell. Then out of nowhere, one of the blagger's sister, Jeanette came running into the courtyard yelling "Where's my money" I didn't know what was going on but by the time I realised what was happening she had her arm round by neck and a gun to my head. DCI Hunt pointed his gun at her and shot, it all happened so fast, Jeanette pushed me and ran off, I felt the bullet, felt the blood. I heard him yell my name and people running towards me and then it all went blank."

Alex didn't know how it had happened but as she recalled that eventful day, tears started streaming down her face. "he didn't mean to shoot me, honestly he didn't. He was just trying to…I don't know."

"It's ok Alex. Now, how would you describe your relationship with DCI Hunt leading up to the day in question."

_Oh boy, _she thought, _Now that was a question she had been dreading, what was her relationship with Gene, _even she didn't know the answer to that.

"Well, we had had a little falling out but everything was fine really, just a misunderstanding." She said nonchalantly.

"What kind of misunderstanding, DI Drake" he persisted.

"He'd heard this tape, of me, he thought, well, I suppose he thought that I was trying to fight him, that I was in someway, not working with the team."

"Right, I see Alex, would it be fair to say that he was angry on that day?" _God, he was good at this_ she thought, feeling ever more like she was in a courtroom rather than the comfort of her own station.

"No I don't think it would sir, I would say he was…disappointed, maybe, felt let down. He felt like he couldn't trust me but he knows that that was wrong"

"How does he know that was wrong, DI Drake, have you spoken to Mr Hunt, since the incident."

"No, I, er, I could just tell from the way he was, when I saw him in the garden." Alex lied, she had to, if he found out about the letter he'd know gene was still in London, he'd find him

"DI Drake, it's important that we get all the information surrounding this investigation so if there's anything you're keeping from me I'd like you to tell me please." _Oh know, _she panicked_ does he know about the letter? Does he suspect? Should I risk telling the truth, or is it more risky to keep it hidden and hope that no-one found out. Ok Alex, this is important, Gene didn't mean to shoot you, he's got nothing to hide, just tell him the truth._

"Ok, ok, Gene came to visit me, whilst I was in hospital. I didn't see him but he left me a note, a letter, apologising and letting me know that it was all an accident." She managed, almost biting her tongue as she let the information out.

"Oh, I see, so you're basing this idea of an 'accident' on a letter received from the suspect" he said cleverly.

"No, I,..I know he didn't mean to shoot me, look, I just know him ok. He wouldn't do that to me…to anyone" She could hear the plea in her voice; she sounded weak, pathetic, like she was scared.

"DI Drake, we have a witness who claims that, on the day before the shooting, DCI Hunt and yourself were arguing in this station and he said, and I quote, 'I'm doing this without you, and if you dare get in my way, I swear to God I will kill you.' And, incidentally, he makes an attempt on your life the very next day."

DCI Spencer was half smiling now, silly cow, he probably thought, bloody women too wrapped up in emotions to see what was in front of them.

"Look" Alex sobbed, the urgency resounding in her voice. "You don't understand, he didn't mean to do it, I swear to you, he didn't"

"Alex, this is clearly upsetting for you, but if you're feeling threatened by Mr Hunt, or anyone else, we can protect you. It is important that the incident is fully investigated, resolved, if you will. I understand if you feel scared, but we can't go around letting people off just because they're in the force. I think we should end there for now, if you want to add anything or remember anything else, then please, just come and see me, ok?"

"Ok" she said quietly.

"And, we will need to see this letter, as evidence. Do you have it with you?" he asked.

"No, I, er, I'll bring it in, in the morning," she said reluctantly, not wanting to give up that last shred of a connection with Gene.

_Who is this man, _Alex thought_ she was telling the truth, she knew Gene, and what the hell did he know about him.! He was just some guy wanting Gene's job. Ok, maybe he didn't believe her, maybe he was trying to help her but he wasn't listening, not really listening. _She needed to get through to him, needed to make him understand; she pulled the neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket and resolved to hand it in the following day.


	5. Chapter 5

She lay away that night, tossing and turning, the letter, Gene's letter folded up on her nightstand. Thoughts, and images, were whirring and whirring around in her head. Molly stood at the foot of her bed crying, sobbing, and screaming out for her, "Mum, "MUM" There was nothing she could do she cried out, "Molly" and she was gone, she had disappeared back into the darkness.

She could hear a telephone ringing in the distance, getting louder and louder, in her drowsy state she picked it up. "Hello" she muttered, still half asleep.

"Bolly? Is that you, Bols?" _Gene?_

"Gene?"

"Bolly…I, er, I wasn't sure if you'd be there, be awake I mean. I'm, er…did you get me letter?" He sounded, strange she thought, nervous maybe, certainly not his usual gruff, confident self.

"Yes, I did Gene, yes I did get the letter" She replied cautiously.

"Good, well, erm, have you told 'em what 'appened then, you know, how you came to be shot"

"How I came to be shot?!" She was getting angry now. How dare he, how dare he call up to find out if he was off the hook without even an utterance of an apology. He'd shot her for Christ sake!

"You bloody well shot me Gene, that's how I 'came to be shot.' Aren't you even going to apologise, I mean I nearly _died _because of you!" She was shouting now, shouting at the top of her voice, how could he be so selfish.

"Look, Bols, I'm sorry an' all but I need to know if it's safe for me to, to come back. Can I come over, just to talk to you, I never, ever meant to hurt you, you know Bols, you gotta believe that. Just let me come round, apologise to ya in person."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Gene," she responded coldly.

"Please, Bols" he said it so quietly, almost whispered it.

"Fine," she said reluctantly, knowing that for some reason she had to see him.

It was about 4am by the time a gentle tapping forced her from the comfort of her bed. Not that she had slept since her conversation with Gene; somehow it had unnerved her, the whole experience of hearing his voice, of knowing he was on his way over to her. She was nervous, excited, scared? She couldn't quite decide.

Slowly, she opened the door and there he was, starring down at his feet like a little boy lost. "DI Drake," he said, formally, uncomfortably "I, er, bought you these."

"Grapes?" she let out a little giggle, wondering what on earth had possessed him to bring grapes. He smiled softly, nervously. "Well, I couldn't go gettin' yer flowers or anythin' poofy could I, don't want you thinkin' I've gone soft."

"Right, yes I suppose not, well, come in then, guv"

"Look Drake" he said sheepishly "about what I said in the letter, about everythin' I did mean it y'know."

"Good. Is that all Gene" she responded, not really knowing what she was expecting him to say.

"Well yeah, and..I came to find out if you…er…you…had any news about me job, the investigation." He said nervously.

"Oh I bet you did" she yelled, "I bet that's all you ever wanted to know. Didn't really care that you shot me just so long as your 'kingdom' and your pride's still intact! And, for your information, I have told them what happened and I did say that you didn't mean it, although god knows why I stood up for you, you egotistical, narcissistic bastard." She spat the final insult at him, anger rising up inside her. Suddenly she felt woozy, light-headed, she felt herself falling towards the ground.

"Alex?" Gene said quietly. He reached out instinctively, catching her as she fainted towards him. "Right, let's get you sat down. Blimey, can't resist the Gene Genie charm can you eh, fallin' at me feet like some alkie on a bender."

"Sod off", Alex whispered. Gene picked her up and carried her over to her bed, checking her eyes to make sure she hadn't passed out. "Gene" she murmured, "I'm sorry"


	6. Chapter 6

"Alex, ALEX," her name resounding in her head.

"What?" she snapped.

"Alex, it's Gene, are you ok, only you were yelling, in yer sleep, I think, you were, er, you were, yelling at me, I think."

"Oh, I, er, sorry, I don't know, I can't remember. What's the time?" she said sleepily.

"It's about 7" he said, "decided to kip on yer sofa, hope you don't mind. Just thought, in case you had another funny turn or needed to get to the 'ospital, or summit."

"No that's fine, it was getting late anyway" she replied, barely recognising the sound of his voice, this unfamiliar nervousness, worry maybe. "Thanks Guv" she added thoughtfully.

"Listen, I might, you know, go home. Reckon I might 'and meself in, what wi' you bein' alrigh' and tellin' 'em the truth. reckon I'll get a slap on the wrist, a few harsh words and that'll be that." He said it with forced confidence; she could hear it in his voice. Whether he thought it to be true or not, she couldn't quite tell, still, she'd defend him, she knew she would. After all, it was an accident, and the Super knew better than anyone that, deep down, Gene was a good copper; some of his more aggressive techniques were, at times, uncalled for but he knew how to police his patch and now, more than ever, the met needed good, honest DCI's like him.

"Ok Guv, well, I guess I'll see you at work then."

"Yep, see ya Bols." He muttered. And with that he left, leaving her unsure as to when she was going to see him again.

Striding in to the office at 10, Alex felt a little guilty about the way she had treated Gene. He _did_ shoot her, but he didn't mean it. Something in him had changed though, he'd lost some of his gruff bravado, barely a hint of any crassness, any innuendo or flirtation, that, if truth be told, she had come to accept as part of her relationship with the men of this world. The awkwardness of him was playing on her mind, sure, she'd seen him like that once or twice in the past, that time when he'd tried to ask her out to dinner, or made some sort of advance on her. But this was different; this was a vulnerability that she had never seen before, his whole world, the things that were important to him, his job, it was all falling apart around him and she needed to find a way of building it back up again.

--

"Mornin' Ma'am," Ray said, with urgency in his voice, "bad news I'm afraid, found another victim, wound to the 'ead, looks the same as that other bloke Chester. Got forensics lookin' into it but it seems to be the same M.O, Ma'am."

"Do we know the identity of the victim, Ray" she responded, quietly glad of some proper police work to be getting on with.

"Yep, Ma'am, a Mr Jim Collins, about the same age as Chester"

"Ok, good, any connections established between the two victims, any mutual friends or acquaintances." She asked.

"None that we know of Ma'am, Haven't spoken to the family yet though, Chris an' me were 'bout to go and deliver the news to 'is missus, unless, of course you wanna do it?" He said hopefully.

"Yes, good idea Ray, get your coat." She ordered, knowing that she needed to take some kind of control in Gene's absence, given that DCI Spencer seemed to be off on his own little mission, God only knows where.

--

Alex tapped on the door lightly. A short, slender woman opened it slowly, nervously wondering what two police officers were doing standing at her door. "Mrs Collins?" Alex asked. "D.I. Drake and D.S Carling, may we come inside please?"

"Yes, of course" she replied, "Is there something wrong officers?"

"I'd rather we discussed this inside if you don't mind Mrs Collins, I'm afraid we have some bad news." Alex said quietly.

"Come in then, is this about my husband?" she asked nervously.

Once they were settled on the sofa with a cup of tea each and a plate of garibaldis, Alex broke the news. "I'm afraid, your husband's body was discovered this morning, down by the docks. I'm really, really sorry." She said gently.

Mrs Collins let out a huge sob, her shoulders moving up and down as she released the emotion inside her. "Oh my god," she wept "how did this happen?"

"Currently, we're trying to establish your husband's last movements, When was the last time you saw him?"

"Well to tell you the truth, DI…Drake, was it?" Alex nodded. "We've been separated for about a year now, he came round to talk about the kids, about 4 days ago, and that's the last time I saw him." She said, tears subsiding.

"I know this must be difficult for you Mrs Collins, but do you know of anyone who your estranged husband, spent a lot of time with." Alex asked carefully, not wanting to offend the already upset woman.

"I don't follow, D.I. Drake" she replied, a little confused.

"Did 'e 'ave a girlfriend or someone 'e were seein'" Ray said impatiently. Alex glared at him, obviously disapproving of his approach. "Well they were estranged, it weren't like they were together or nowt" Ray whispered in response.

"No, it's ok," said Mrs Collins, "I don't think so, but to be honest, I'm not really sure. We led very separate lives after the split, we only really saw each other to discuss the children, we've got two boys, you see. He'd come round to collect 'em every other weekend and drop 'em off on the Monday, and that was about it."

"Well," Alex responded. "I think that's all we need, thank you for your time. And once again, we're very sorry about your husband. "

"Thank you" she said kindly, "Your probably best off talking to some of his friends, they'll probably know more than me. Maybe try The Wellington Arms pub, his local. He has a group of mates down there; they usually play dominoes on a Monday. Ask for the landlord, he'll know I reckon."

"Cheers" said Ray, "you've been very 'elpful. See ya Mrs Collins".

As they left, Alex felt guiltily happy, She felt really sorry for Mrs Collins, and her two boys, but it did make her feel better about her own situation. And, she thought, some police work to really distract her from everything else was exactly what she needed.


	7. Chapter 7

"Right, listen up everybody," Alex bellowed, "We have two victims, seemingly unconnected. Similar MO, both died from a severe blow to the head, seemingly from the same weapon, except that the first victim, Mr Chester was found to have poison in his blood. Whilst the Guv is away, Ray and I will be leading the case. We're going to interview the pub landlord that the second victim's wife informed us of yesterday, Chris, can you go back to interview the family of Mr Chester again, try to find out if he may have any connections to Collins."

"Right you are, boss, er Ma'am" said Chris, rather glad to have some responsibility to himself for a change.

As they all headed out, Alex began to miss the Guv; she liked being in charge but she knew her authority would never totally be respected in the eighties Met. Ray and Chris were on side but she knew that she could never order them around the same way that Gene could, but she had Ray, he was a good copper, not as sharp as Gene but like him in many ways. Ballsy, not afraid of a fight and a lot of hard work to get the job done.

--

As they approached the pub, she let Ray take the lead; these types always listened to the man anyway, it was no use her even trying to get them to talk, unless she was willing to go in there dressed as a tart and trick them into giving them information.

As they walked up to the bar, Ray flashed his warrant card. "DS Carling and DI Drake, you the owner?" the man nodded, "just wanna word 'bout Mr Collins, did ya know 'im? Mr…"

"Lewis. Colin Lewis Yeah, what did you mean _did _I know him. What's happened?" he replied.

"I'm afraid 'e's been found dead. Can you tell us the last time yer saw 'im" said Ray, straight to the point.

"Well, he was in here on Monday, we play dominoes every Monday; Jim, myself, and a couple of other blokes, Ken Harris and Charlie Dean who live round the corner. Not for money or anything just for a bit of banter and an excuse to get away from the wives." He winked, and addressed Alex "oh, no offense love."

"No that's quite alright. Can you tell us what time Jim Collins left here on Monday?" she asked.

"Quite late as I recall, the others had gone home, we'd all had a bit of a skinful. Jim left just before I did, at about 1am." He said, a little unsure of himself

"Right, and that's the last time you saw him?" Alex hazarded. Colin nodded "and did he leave on his own?"

"Yeah, he only lives round the corner, would a taken him about 5 minutes at the most." He replied.

"Ok, thanks Mr Lewis. One last thing, did Jim have a girlfriend or friend, anyone he may have gone to see after he left here."

"No, not that I knew of, he kind of kept himself to himself as far as I could tell, well, apart from the dominoes; but whenever else he came in here it was always on his own. He came in maybe twice, three times a week just for a pint or two, was quite chatty with a couple of the girls behind the bar but that was that, you know?"

"Well, you've been very helpful. We'll let you know if we need anything else." Alex smiled, and with that they left, feeling a little disappointed at the lack of information that they had been able to obtain, thinking through what they were going to do next.

--

Alex woke with a start; a light tapping on her door was getting louder. She stayed in bed, covered herself with the duvet and tried to ignore whoever it was. "Alex? Alex, I know you're in there, open up," came the unmistakable voice of Gene Hunt. _Oh God_ she thought _what did he want now, in the middle of the night_? She tried to ignore him but it was no use, she knew that he wouldn't go away, not that easily anyway.

Slowly she got out of bed, walked over to the door, and opened it, squinting slightly as the light of the hallway hit her tired eyes. "Gene, what on earth are you doing here at this time of night?" she asked, crossly.

"I need to talk to you Bolls" he said matter-of-factly, as if it was perfectly normal to turn up unannounced at a colleague's flat in the middle of the night.

"What's so urgent that it couldn't wait until the morning, Gene?"

"Well, I dunno really, I just…I just needed to see ya. Just wanted to check your alrigh', that everythin's goin' ok. At the station, without me I mean. I was gonna 'and meself in but…I dunno I just, with all that's been goin' on an all I…I wasn't sure I'd be welcome."

He was clearly nervous, she noted, he looking down at his feet like she'd seen him do before, a sure sign that he was uncomfortable in the situation. If she was honest with herself, she preferred this side of Gene, the side that showed he was just like everybody else, behind the façade of the 'manc lion' persona that he had built up. Sure, the aggressive, manly, tough side of him made him a good copper and it was, she could admit to herself, quite sexy really. But this side of him felt more special, she knew that she was one of the only people to have seen it, one of the only people who he had allowed to see him this vulnerable.

"Bols?" he exclaimed, "are you bloody listenin' to me woman, I'm tryin' to tell yer summin 'ere'"

"Oh sorry, I, er, you were saying?" she suddenly realised that she was analysing him and not really paying much attention to the words coming from his lips.

"Look Bols, I need you to 'elp me 'ere, it's not often you'll 'ear the Gene Genie askin' but this is important. I need you to keep me in the loop, with everythin' that's goin' on so that if…no, _when_, I return, I'll know what's what. You got that?"

"Yeah, sure Guv, whatever you say; but in future could you call round at a more sociable hour, a girl's got to have her beauty sleep you know." She replied, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Yeah Bols, course, yeah. I'll go then, maybe, see you tomorrow? I'll call round, I mean, if you're not busy?" he said hopefully.

"OK Gene, tomorrow it is." And with that he walked slowly to her front door, opened it quietly and slipped out as if she wasn't there. His behaviour was starting to trouble Alex, she hadn't expected him to be totally back to normal, at the station or with her, but this was something else, it was almost as if he was a different person. At least he was talking to her now, wanting to be in some way involved with everything; it was a step in the right direction.


	8. Chapter 8

Chris walked over to her desk the next day looking very pleased with himself. "Ma'am, I've found the connection." He said assertively.

"That's great Chris, what is it?" she smiled

"Well, I went back to see the victims family, tried to chase 'is last movements like, and they mentioned summit about some party 'e'd been to Saturday night. And you'd never guess where this party were...Go on Ma'am, guess…"

"Erm, I don't know Chris, it's too early for guessing games" she snapped

"The Wellington Arms, same pub as the second victim went on the night 'e were killed. I'm bettin' they knew each other or at least they 'ad some of the same mates. And, accordin' to Chester's missus, 'e came back in a 'right foul mood'" Chris said excitedly flicking through his notes.

"Great work Chris," said Alex, a bit more enthusiastically, "back to the pub then ladies."

--

"Hello again Mr Lewis" Alex said as the door to the pub opened. "You remember my colleague, DS Carling and this is DC Skelton."

"Oh, DI Drake, DS Carling what brings you here?"

"Just a couple more questions, in light of recent evidence we've stumbled across. Tell me, Mr Lewis, did you know of a Mr Chester, by any chance?"

"John. Yeah knew 'im, well, knew of 'im more like. 'e comes in every now an' again. 'eard what 'appened, poor bloke." He said matter-of-factly.

"Mr Lewis, we have it on good authority that John Chester was in your pub last Saturday night, can you confirm this?"

"Yeah, 'e were 'ere for a while, not long though mind. He had a bit of a barnie with one of the other lads, left soon after. Don't really know much else about it though."

"This argument" Alex stressed. Colin nodded. "Who was he arguing with?"

"Arthur James, local lad. Good bloke, gets into trouble now and again but don't mean no 'arm to nobody."

"By trouble, you mean what exactly?" interjected Ray

"The odd fight, can't really 'andle 'is ale. Nothin' more."

"I see. Anything else you'd like to tell us? Given that you knew about Mr Chester and neglected to inform us of this at an earlier occasion, I must stress that any information, no matter how seemingly insignificant, may be vital to this particular case." Alex said smugly.

"My apologies Ms Drake, I wasn't aware that you were investigating Mr Chester's murder, supposing that's what it was. Do you suspect that the two instances are connected?"

"We can't tell you at this point, I'm afraid. We're pursuing several lines of enquiry to establish what happened." Chris winked at Alex, who smiled softly at him.

"Ok, well you know where we are Mr Lewis. One more thing, we'll need the address of this Mr James, to eliminate him from our enquiries." Alex muttered impatiently.

"It's just up the road, number 5."

"Thanks," Chris smiled. All three officers instinctively getting up to leave, Chris and Ray following Alex out.

---

"Arthur James?" Ray said, presenting his i.d.

"Yeah, who's askin'?" the young man asked nervously

"DS Ray Carling, this is DI Drake and DC Skelton"

"Right, I guess you'd better come in. Is this about Mr Collins?"

"What makes you ask that, Mr James" Alex quizzed.

"Well, I 'eard he'd been murdered or summit." We all knew 'im yer see, drank in our local, The Wellington. Well, I guess you lot probably know that, right?"

"Actually, we're here to ask you about a John Chester. We have reason to believe you and he had a disagreement at the pub on Saturday?"

"Right, that, yeah. Nothin' important really, I lent 'im some money, 'e was supposed to pay me back but didn't 'ave any money so I 'ad a bit of a ruck wi' 'im. It's all sorted now though."

"By sorted. You have the money back?" Alex was surprised.

"Yeah, 'is missus came round and paid 'is debt. Said she wanted to put all 'is things in order."

"Mr James, can you tell us why you lent John Chester some money in the first place" asked Chris.

"'e seemed desperate, I dunno what it was for. I won a bit on the horses, thought I'd help 'im out. 'e said 'e'd pay it back the followin' week but every time I asked 'im, 'e would 'ave some sort of excuse. 'e was takin' the piss and I didn't like it. But it weren't like I were desperate for the money or nowt, nothin' too important." He added.

"So, after Mr Chester and you had this disagreement, that was the last you saw of him, is that correct?"

"Yes Ma'am. I'm, telling ya, I know nothin' else."

"And Mr Collins, you know nothing of the matter other than what you've heard on the street and in the media?"

"Right again, DI Drake" he said smugly.

Ray was starting to get agitated with Alex, _just get the bugger down the station_ he was thinking to himself.

"In that case, we just gotta get your dabs to eliminate yer from our enquiries, if you don't mind accompanying the good lady 'ere and ourselves down the station," he dragged the poor bloke to his feet and marched him out the door, Alex following him with her gaze, a disapproving look starting to form on her face.

--

The door opened slowly and a familiar face barged its way into her apartment. "You look like you could do with a drink Bols" he said, eyes sparkling, holding out a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"You look like you've already started," she replied, giving him a look of mock disapproval.

"I 'av" he slurred. "an you know what?"

"What?"

"I've forgotten what I was gonna say" he mumbled

He slumped himself down on the couch, eyes drooping, mouth slightly open. _Oh god, _thought Alex _how much has he had._

"Look Bols" he slurred. "I don't think I'm gonna be coming back. That DCI Spencer or whatever 'is bloody name is, is after me for what 'appened. 'e's convinced I meant to do what I did and the Super, well, given what 'appened with Mac and Carnegie, it don't look good Bols."

"Guv, don't say that" she replied hopefully. "I'm sure with my evidence and everything else…I don't know for sure but there must be a way, I you want to come back that is?"

"Course I do Bols", he said gruffly. "I ain't got much else goin' for me 'av I. The job, well, it's me whole life I s'pose, an' it's all goin' down the drain."

God she hated it when he started feeling sorry for himself. In this mood, no one could say anything or do anything to snap him out of it. And, whatever anyone did, it always made the situation worse, he'd always bite the head off anyone who dared even mention that he might need to look on the bright side or change the subject.

"Right Guv" she said absent-mindedly. "I guess we just get pissed then do we? Is that your solution to this particular problem?"

"Yep Bols, I believe it is. Here" He handed her the glass, a determined look in his eye.

"Cheers" she muttered, drinking the warm liquid down. Just what she needed, she thought_. Almost like the good old days._


End file.
